Marius Simanaitis (27, pictured) died instantly in the incident at his home in the Mill Race Road apartments in Dublin on March 11, 2009.

Mr Simanaitis was the ex-partner of model Irma Mali. The couple had a daughter.

His death was the subject of an inquest at Dublin County Coroner's Court where a suicide verdict was recorded but later quashed in the High Court following a judicial review brought by his brother, Donatas.

At the fresh inquest into his brother's death, Donatas told the coroner, Dr Brian Farrell, that he believed his brother may have been murdered over money. However, Dr Farrell said there was no evidence to suggest third party involvement in the death.

The inquest had earlier heard from Lukas Tiskevirias, who was resting on the couch when the incident happened at around 6am.

He said he heard a gunshot and opened his eyes to find his friend lying on the floor with a pool of blood around his head.

Another man present in the apartment that night had earlier warned the deceased to stop playing with the gun.

The deceased had also been worried about being "cheated" out of money he owed to another party and had blocked the apartment door with a barbell.

In summing up the case for the jury, Dr Farrell noted that the deceased's handling of the gun earlier in the night had caused some "consternation" among those present and that he was intoxicated at the time of his death. The jury returned an open verdict.